Art, it is said, is language. One young man is speaking this language in style. Eric Amofa’s pencil-arts have wowed everybody who sees them, even the president. But it has never been an easy road for him in life. After losing his father everything came to a stand-still for him, including his education. But read […]

Art, it is said, is language. One young man is speaking this language in style. Eric Amofa’s pencil-arts have wowed everybody who sees them, even the president. But it has never been an easy road for him in life. After losing his father everything came to a stand-still for him, including his education. But read on as he shares his journey with the B&FT’s Inspiring Startups, on how he turned his life around to become one of the best pencil-artists in Ghana.

Eric Nana Amofa is a native of Kumasi, capital of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Life was smooth for his family until the passing of their breadwinner—his father—in 2002. Life was never the same again from that time, and so after completing junior high school Eric couldn’t further his education any more. For him not to add to the pressure on his mother, as he was the third of six children, he decided to wean himself off his mother’s budget by finding something to do for himself to survive.

He moved from one church to the next learning how to play musical instruments, a skill he mastered to use as his profession. However, there was a special talent in Eric that he hadn’t paid much attention to—pencil art.

My love for pencil arts

When he was in the junior high school, he once drew an image from a test book that depicted someone being arrested by a police man while urinating at unauthorised place. The art looked perfect to him and from there he realized how good he was in art.

But Eric somewhat lacked self-confidence. He felt his works were not good enough to catch attention from people, so for many years, he never practiced art. But in 2015 everything changed.

One day, a friend posted a nice picture of herself on Facebook, and Eric joked that he would do a pencil art of the picture for her because it was so nice. Well, his friend didn’t take it as a passing comment; she kept asking Eric about it. So, just to satisfy her demand, he decided to give her a surprise.

Remember that Eric had been battling with low self-confidence about his artwork – so to be sure the art would come out with a finesse finish, he read wide and watched videos on the Internet on how to improve his drawing.

After going through that exercise and feeling adequate to the task, he gave his friend a nice portrait. The lady loved the artwork so much that she shared it on social media – attracting many comments and likes, praising the artist. This boosted his confidence and he decided to focus on the artwork and put his love for musical instruments on hold. Since then, he has started commercialising his work, naming his business Enamof Pencil Arts.

In fact, one of the high-profile works he did was a drawing of President Nana Akufo-Addo (at the time a presidential candidate), which he presented to him personally.

His vision

Eric does not want to keep his talent to himsel. He wants to, in the near-future, open a training centre that will train young men and women in pencil-art.

Challenges

Foremost among the challenges he faces on a regular basis is the lack of appreciation for arts in Ghana. People don’t really value artworks, and so want them for cheap.

“Someone will see a beautiful artwork and ask about the price, and after telling him the price he will remark that it is just a pencil art, so why should it be sold at that price? They don’t appreciate the effort that goes into the work, and so they don’t value it.”

Again, a challenge is inadequate capital to set up fully. As of now, Eric still does his work in his living room. His startup capital is not enough to rent a place that will provide him adequate space and market for his work. For now, the only place to display his products is on social media.

He would welcome any move by people who share his vision and want to partner him.

How education has helped him

Even though Eric ended his formal education at the junior high level, he has never stopped learning. He keeps educating himself informally by reading books and researching on the Internet. This has boosted his confidence, as he is able to communicate fluently in the English language.

The help government must give startups

For Eric, government policies should not be targetted only at startups in the formal sector. He thinks there should be other policies or schemes which identify promising startups with no formal structures, as most of them can be very viable if given the needed financial and managerial assistance.

He feels government assistance to startups should not be limited to only competitions where ideas are pitched and only the winner gets a prize. It should be broadened to help those who have good business ideas and projects but lack the capacity to present them through pitching and other competitions.

Advice

“I would advise the youth never to forget their dreams, but pursue them to make it a reality. I, for example, thought I could never do pencil art in such a fine manner; but today, here I am. So, it is very important to keep pushing until you get there. Never give up.”

The Communication Director at the Ministry of Education has released a short statement to deny a claim by the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) that it has been excluded from discussions on the new curricula for basic education. Ekow Vincent Assafuah said NAGRAT and other teacher unions were served with copies of the draft national curriculum […]

The Communication Director at the Ministry of Education has released a short statement to deny a claim by the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) that it has been excluded from discussions on the new curricula for basic education.

Ekow Vincent Assafuah said NAGRAT and other teacher unions were served with copies of the draft national curriculum framework and their inputs requested.

“We sent NAGRAT, GNAT and CT letters in January requesting that they select classroom teachers who teach in primary schools for a workshop to validate the revised curriculum. We have not heard from them. We will send a reminder,” Mr Assafuah said in the statement.

According to NAGRAT its input was not sought prior to the formulation of the new policy which comes into effect in the 2019/2020 academic year.

President Nana Akufo-Addo announced in his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) to Parliament Thursday, February 21, that all was set for the introduction of the new standards-based curriculum to be rolled out from kindergarten to primary schools.

This curriculum which he noted has been inspired by best practices, has at the heart, Mathematics, Science, Reading, Writing and Creativity.

“It, therefore, warms my heart that we are now able to say that education in the public sector is free from Kindergarten to Senior High School, and, that this year, legislationwould be passed to redefine basic education to include Senior High School,” he said.

But speaking on Newsnight on Joy FM, Vice President of NAGRAT, Jacob Anaba, said although they knew about discussions held by the Education Ministry and the Ghana Education Service purposed on reviewing the curricula, they were never invited to such discussions.

Mr Asafauh, however, says Mr Anaba is being disingenuous.

On the 3rd of May, 2018, a stakeholder engagement was held at the GNAT HALL here in Accra.

We made a presentation to the Teacher Unions. NAGRAT was well represented.

They were served with copies of the draft national curriculum framework and we requested for their inputs.

It is over 7 months now, we have received no response.

We sent NAGRAT, GNAT and CT letters in January requesting that they select classroom teachers who teach in primary schools for a workshop to validate the revised curriculum.

Head of Public Relations at the Ghana National Fire Service has confirmed to Joy News that a fire has gutted the new Makola Market in Accra. According to Elis Robinson, the Fire Service is struggling to gain access to the basement of the mall, where the fire started, due to extensive smoke. “There is a lot […]

Head of Public Relations at the Ghana National Fire Service has confirmed to Joy News that a fire has gutted the new Makola Market in Accra.

According to Elis Robinson, the Fire Service is struggling to gain access to the basement of the mall, where the fire started, due to extensive smoke.

“There is a lot of smoke coming out of the basement. That is what is impeding us from fighting the fire effectively. We have asked for a smoke extractor and they are bringing it so that we can extract some of the smoke out of the place,” he told Daniel Dadzie on the Joy Super Morning Show Friday.

The fire, which is believed to have begun inside a hair shop, eventually spread throughout the market, Robinson said.

President Nana Akufo-Addo says the woes of troubled gold dealership firm; Menzgold Ghana should be a wakeup call for all Ghanaians. Describing the situation as a tragic phenomenon, President Akufo-Addo admonished the citizenry to be wary of deceitful investments schemes to avert similar occurrences in the future. Menzgold management conniving to secretly pay ‘close friends’ […]

President Nana Akufo-Addo says the woes of troubled gold dealership firm; Menzgold Ghana should be a wakeup call for all Ghanaians.

Describing the situation as a tragic phenomenon, President Akufo-Addo admonished the citizenry to be wary of deceitful investments schemes to avert similar occurrences in the future.

Menzgold management conniving to secretly pay ‘close friends’ – Staff allege“As the authorities try to unravel the intricacies of what happened (in the MenzGold saga), I admonish all Ghanaians to learn the necessary lessons for the future, even as State institutions work to bring a resolution to the matter, and those who are seen to have indulged in criminal activities, are brought to justice,” Nana Addo gave the advice during his third State of the Nations Address in Parliament today, Thursday.

Hundreds of Ghanaians have lost millions of Ghana cedis from their investments that have gone bad at Menzgold.

This is despite several protests by the aggrieved customers to pile pressure on government to expedite processes to enable them to retrieve their locked-up cash.

“The MenzGold debacle is a tragic phenomenon that appears to have occurred in plain sight, and affected a lot of people, in spite of warnings from official institutions. The existence of a body such as the newly inaugurated Presidential Financial Stability Advisory Council would have forestalled the emergence of the Menzgold saga, and will make it difficult, in future, for any such scheme to get off the ground”, the President added.

Beleaguered Menzgold Boss, NAM 1

Nana Appiah Mensah (NAM1), Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Menzgold, is in Dubai where he is facing a misdemeanour charge over a US$23 million deal, gone bad.

He is currently being held on remand at the Al Barsha police cell.

The criminal charge of misdemeanour in Dubai is equivalent to a Second Degree Felony in Ghana and if found guilty he could spend up to two years in prison.

Back here in Ghana, the Economic and Organised Crime Organisation (EOCO), has frozen the properties of Menzgold and its associated companies.

The Menzgold story

Menzgold was asked to suspend its gold trading operations with the public by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

According to the SEC, Menzgold had been dealing in the purchase and deposit of gold collectables from the public and issuing contracts with guaranteed returns with clients, without a valid license from the Commission.

This, the SEC said was in contravention of “section 109 of Act 929 with consequences under section 2016 (I) of the same Act.”

The company was however cleared to continue its “other businesses of assaying, purchasing gold from small-scale miners and export of gold.”

Despite initial protests, Menzgold complied with the directive.

It, however, failed to fully pay its numerous aggrieved customers the value on their gold deposits as well as their entire investments.

President Akufo-Addo says his government is working to complete abandoned infrastructure in the health sector. He said although there are difficulties in working on abandoned infrastructure as new ones are being put up, the government remains committed to completing them to improve the quality of health service delivery in the country. Addressing parliament during his […]

President Akufo-Addo says his government is working to complete abandoned infrastructure in the health sector.

He said although there are difficulties in working on abandoned infrastructure as new ones are being put up, the government remains committed to completing them to improve the quality of health service delivery in the country.

Addressing parliament during his third state of the nation address on Thursday, Akufo-Addo noted that the incident of having many uncompleted and abandoned health facility projects is a sign of “underdevelopment” that has plagued the country for many years.

“We have problems of numerous structures at various stages of completion that cannot be finished and brought to use because new structures are being started and there is no money to finish the ones started earlier. Again, this is a long standing problem that is a mark of our underdevelopment. We will not ignore or sweep the problem under the carpet and we are dealing with it and we will complete them,” he said.

The government in August 2018 said it was actively pursuing the completion of some abandoned hospitals aimed at tackling the health crisis the country faced.

The assurance was premised on Citi FM and OccupyGhana petition to the Presidency demanding the operationalization of all completed but non-functioning health facilities and timelines for the competition of abandoned ones.

The government through the Ministry of Health in an extensive response to that petition gave specific timelines for the competition of the key health facilities it had identified and had direct oversight responsibility for.

The facilities were the Wa Regional Hospital, Madina district hospital, Nsawkaw district hospital and the Tepa district hospital.

The others were the Twifo Praso hospital, Kumasi Regional hospital, Salaga district hospital and Konongo district hospital.

But Citi FM’s latest checks revealed that the government had missed some of its deadlines, and it was unlikely to complete abandoned projects on time.

But the government insists that it is working to ensure that the abandoned and uncompleted infrastructure are completed and put to use.

President Akufo-Addo further added that the government is expecting some 275 ambulances in June 2019 to improve the delivering of emergency healthcare services in the country.

“We are expecting the arrival of 275 ambulances ie. 1 per constituency, to make treatment of emergency cases more effective. Drone technology has also been introduced into that system to help deliver essential medicines, blood and blood products to remote communities. We still face problems of inadequate infrastructure in our health establishments,” he said.

Nima is set to receive a major facelift as part of government plans to “regenerate” the area. President Nana Akufo-Addo said he was excited by these plans during his state of the nation address. As he touched on developments in the housing sector, the President said: “the most exciting news on the housing landscape, though, […]

Nima is set to receive a major facelift as part of government plans to “regenerate” the area.

President Nana Akufo-Addo said he was excited by these plans during his state of the nation address.

As he touched on developments in the housing sector, the President said: “the most exciting news on the housing landscape, though, is the drafting of plans to regenerate Nima, which holds the dubious title of being Accra’s first slum.”

But Nima has been “unable to shake off the urban-slum title,” he added.

President Akufo-Addo, who resides in Nima, also said these plans “will not dislodge or dispossess residents, but would rather transform Nima into a well-laid out residential area with full amenities.”

“I am looking forward to it, good work that is being done by the Ministries of Inner City and Zongo Development and Works and Housing.”

Other housing developments

Also on housing, the President said the “Saglemi Housing Project, started under the last NDC government, is also high on our list of priorities this year.”

“The 5,000 units it offers would boost our housing numbers. We are, therefore, establishing the value for money issues surrounding the project in order to reconcile the number of houses built with the schedule of payments made, and accelerate delivery.

The president acknowledged Ghana’s housing deficit, which stands at at least 1.7 million units, saying “it is time to tackle the issue and find a resolution.”

“We are starting with the completion of the many abandoned projects dotted around the country. A consortium of local banks has raised 51 million dollars to fund the completion of the social housing units started by the Kufuor administration in 2006 at Koforidua, Tamale and Ho.”

In addition, President Akufo-Addo said the “Ministry of Finance is working to launch a one billion Ghana cedi housing fund that would target low-income earners.”

“Government will continue with the other housing projects for the police, armed forces and government workers across the country, through agencies like the State Housing Corporation,” the President assured in addition.

Sanitation in the country has improved significantly since President Akufo-Addo promised to make Accra the cleanest city in 2017. This is the assessment of President Akufo-Addo more than a year after he made the declaration. According to him, although there is a lot more the government can do to ensure that the target is met, […]

Sanitation in the country has improved significantly since President Akufo-Addo promised to make Accra the cleanest city in 2017.

This is the assessment of President Akufo-Addo more than a year after he made the declaration.

According to him, although there is a lot more the government can do to ensure that the target is met, it has currently achieved significant results in improving sanitation in the country.

Akufo-Addo told Parliament in the delivery of his 2019 State of the Nation Address said;

“Last year, I reiterated before you, my pledge of improving sanitation in the country and making Accra the cleanest city in Africa by the end of my term. Mr. Speaker, there has been a significant improvement in sanitation even though I acknowledge that more can be done.”

He said the country had increased the capacity of solid waste it manages from 16% to 53%, noting that the government in 2018 alone constructed more than 35,000 household toilets to deal with open defecation.

“This is currently the state of play, we are witnessing increase of the average of solid waste management to 16% to 53% and over the course of last year, 35,862 household toilets were built as oppose to 1,698 in 2016,” he said.

Akufo-Addo expressed displeasure at the incident of open defecation in the country which he said should not be the case in 2019.

He said such conduct was undeserving of Ghanaians and must be eschewed.

The president said the government was working to enforce sanitation by-laws and deal with persons who flout it.

In 2018, President Akufo-Addo decried filth which he said had engulfed the country’s capital cities.

He further disclosed that a GH¢ 200 million had been earmarked to address the issue of filth, especially in Accra urgently.

“We are putting GH₵ 200m into addressing the sanitation challenges that we have. I am confident that by the time I come back next year, appreciable gains would have been made in improving our sanitation,” he said.

President Nana Akufo-Addo has reiterated his government’s commitment to maintaining the needed discipline to ensure that Ghana does not return to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the 17th time. He made the comments while delivering his third State of Nation Address to Ghanaians in Parliament today, Thursday. A team from the IMF this week completed the […]

President Nana Akufo-Addo has reiterated his government’s commitment to maintaining the needed discipline to ensure that Ghana does not return to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the 17th time.

He made the comments while delivering his third State of Nation Address to Ghanaians in Parliament today, Thursday.

A team from the IMF this week completed the 7th and 8th reviews under the Extended Credit Facility program which Ghana entered into in 2015.

An approval from the IMF board in March should lead to Ghana exiting the program after April 3rd.

But delivering his State of the Nation Address, President Akufo-Addo stated that in order not to repeat the cycle of returning to the Fund immediately after exiting, Ghana will have to ensure that systems are put in place like the Fiscal Council, which are to ensure discipline in the management of the economy, are as effective as possible.

“We’ve just concluded the program with the IMF and with continued discipline, we shall sign off from the deal in April. This is the 16th time Ghana has had to go to the IMF in its history. Mr. Speaker, we cannot make the progress we all desire unless we are consistent and disciplined in the management of our economy. We have gone through another round of painful impositions to get to where we are today with healthy fundamentals.”

The President added that a repeat of actions that led to a return to the IMF in the past will not be repeated under his government.

“As we prepare to exit from the IMF program we expect the impressive figures and good performance to continue. We are very much aware that this is not the first time we have had such good a set of figures, but we’re determined to do things differently this time around. We’ve imposed on ourselves fiscal discipline, we’re paying off legacy debts and deepening good governance practice and business confidence is growing. We will maintain the discipline and bring progress to our country.”

IMF final review

Ghana program with the IMF for US$918 million which was approved on April 3, 2015, aims to restore debt sustainability and macroeconomic stability in the country to foster a return to high growth and job creation, while protecting social spending.

The government has given assurances that the economy will remain resilient and robust even after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program is over.

Speaking exclusively Citi Business News after the final meeting, Chairman of the Finance Committee of Parliament Dr. Assibey-Yeboah said he is confident Ghana will successfully exit the extended credit facility program after April 3rd.

“Clearly Ghana is exiting the program after April third as already agreed upon. You’ll recall that we went to the fund for policy credibility. So if you exit they have to sign you off. We want a clean bill of health, so the IMF team will go to the board at the end of March after which the board will decide as to whether or not Ghana has successfully completed the program.”

Throughout the various reviews, Directors of the IMF have commended Ghana on a number of things, welcoming the deceleration in inflation as well as the progress made in the strengthening the banking system, in particular through the approval of timebound recapitalization plans for undercapitalized banks.

On the things that need to be worked on, the Directors emphasized the need to tackle energy sector inefficiencies, particularly improving the management of the state‑owned enterprises (SOEs). They also advised that ongoing debt restructuring efforts are helpful but are no substitute to stemming the SOEs’ financial losses.

While highlighting the progress Ghana has made under the program, Dr. Assibey-Yeboah went on to share some of the benefits of successfully exiting the program for Ghana.

“If we successfully exit the program, then we are found to be credit worthy, it affects our ratings, it affects the cost of borrowing and we are able to tap into other markets because the IMF says these people are credible and they are credit worthy.”

He finally added that apart from the disbursement of the final tranche of about $118 million from the IMF, Ghana was looking at receiving other disbursements from bodies like the World Bank as a result of successfully exiting the program.

A group of unemployed nurses who completed their training in 2016 are challenging claims by President Akufo-Addo that the government has granted financial clearance and recruited more than 14,000 graduate nurses who completed their training in 2016 last year. According to them, the president appears to have been misinformed as they are still at home […]

A group of unemployed nurses who completed their training in 2016 are challenging claims by President Akufo-Addo that the government has granted financial clearance and recruited more than 14,000 graduate nurses who completed their training in 2016 last year.

According to them, the president appears to have been misinformed as they are still at home waiting for the government’s intervention to employ them.

While delivering the 2019 State of the Nation Address on Thursday, President Akufo-Addo said it had recruited the over 14,000 graduate nurses who subsequently commenced work on 1stFebruary 2019.

“Government granted financial clearance for the recruitment of eleven thousand, one hundred and eighteen (11,018) health personnel to increase existing clinical staff. To augment the efforts of clinical staff, in September, 2018, the Ministry of Health received further financial clearance to employ fourteen thousand, five hundred and twenty-four (14,254) Nurse Assistants (Clinical and Preventive). These nurse assistants belong to the tranche that passed their exams in 2016 from Government Health Training Institutions, and have commenced work by 1st February, 2019,” Akufo-Addo said.

But the group said the information is untrue.

The President of the Coalition of Allied Health Professionals, Bright Bell, in a Citi News interview reacting to the claim said nurses who graduated in 2016 have still not been posted.

He further expressed regret at President Akufo-Addo’s announcement that the government was working to grant financial clearance to 2017 and 2018 unemployed graduate nurses when 2016 graduates were yet to be recruited.

“We have completed in 2016 and 2017 and we are still at home. So if they talk about arrangements for our junior colleagues to be cleared, then we are at a lost because we are still waiting for our clearance. I think that facts must be laid bare so that we can all understand the situation,” Bright Bell said.

A 13-month old baby was sodomised at a prayer camp near Japekrom in the Jaman South District. The incident occurred while the baby’s mother attended the watchnight service on December 31, 2017 to usher in the New Year. The Deputy Director, incharge of Public Health in the Bono Region, Dr Paulina Appiah, who narrated the […]

A 13-month old baby was sodomised at a prayer camp near Japekrom in the Jaman South District. The incident occurred while the baby’s mother attended the watchnight service on December 31, 2017 to usher in the New Year.

The Deputy Director, incharge of Public Health in the Bono Region, Dr Paulina Appiah, who narrated the chilling story to The Mirror, said it was awful to see the tear of the anal region with bleeding and fatty tissue protruding.

The more pathetic part of the story, as told by Dr Appiah at a conference of the Paediatric Society of Ghana in Sunyani, was that even though the baby was sent to the St Mary’s Catholic Hospital at Drobo, and was given a referral to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi that did not happen simply because the parents did not have money.

As a result, she said the matter was reported to the Social Welfare Department and the Domestic Violence Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), of the Ghana Police Service, which picked up the case and followed up to the prayer camp, but they were unable to find the culprit.

“At the end of the day, the owner of the prayer camp where the horrible act took place was asked to bear the hospital bill.

The last I heard of the case was that the wound was dressed, and it healed but the infant was not sent for further evaluation at the referral facility”, Dr Appiah stated.

“This is the true state of the Ghanaian child where the public service structures are incapable of protecting our vulnerable children.

I am sure many of you have stories of how parents were not able to afford the cost of medication for their children and the burden of finding and paying for drugs remain with the nurses and pediatricians to manage the child”.

Dr Appiah said issues of child health should be prioritised since investing in children is money well spent.

The theme for the conference was “Healthcare Planning and Delivery: The True State of the Ghanaian Child.”

DOVSSU

When The Mirror contacted, the Bono Regional Officer of DOVVSU, DSP Setina Aboagye, confirmed the story but explained that the culprit had not yet been found.

“We have been investigating the matter since it was reported to us but unfortunately since the victim was a 13-month old baby, it was difficult identifying the culprit”, she stated.

Despite the trauma that the infant went through, the mother, according to DOVVSU “told us that the child is doing well and that she was treated and discharged at the St Mary’s Catholic Hospital, Drobo without being referred to another facility”.

Department of Social Welfare

An official of the Social Welfare Department in Sunyani, Mr Clement Adjei-Benneh, who was incharge of the Jaman South District at the time of the incident confirmed the story.

He explained to The Mirror that even though he briefed authorities of the Jaman South District Assembly, he was told that the police were investigating the case.

An extract from the 2018 First Quarter Report of the Brong Ahafo Regional Directorate of the Social Welfare Department read as follows:

“Doctors at the St Mary’s Hospital during the quarter discharged the 13-month old baby who was defiled by an unknown assailant in December 2017 during an all-night service”.

“The baby, whose name has been withheld for obvious reasons was said to be doing well after undergoing intensive care at the facility for nearly eight weeks”.

“The Drobo Police has however, given indications that investigations will continue until the culprit is apprehended and dealt with”.